I ran across this movie on a list of really great romantic comedies you haven’t seen* and I ordered it because the library had it. This movie epitomizes two things: 90s’s independent film** and dating in Boston when in your 20s.*** I remember adoring the soundtrack and the structure of the movie, and, sadly, neither one of those things lived up to my memories.****
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home.
*Although I saw it in the theater when it came out in 1998. Something went wrong with the sound, so the first couple of minutes were spent getting them to fix the sound, and then listening to people argue with the attendant that they should just start the movie over. He wouldn’t (or couldn’t) and drink coupons were passed around, though I never got one. There was much grumbling. So this viewing, I finally heard what was said in the first few minutes.
**And man, did we put up with some not-so-great film technique when watching 90s independent films. Viewing it from this decade, I found the shoddy film making and iffy acting rather distracting. (Although Hope Davis and Philip Seymour Hoffman were fine.)
***Like Hope Davis’s character, Boston wasn’t a great town for dating for me, either. But I was enchanted with the depiction of smoking in bars–I had forgotten we could do that–and just how not great looking the guys she dated were. Also, I used to drink at the Bern, which is her go-to bar. It wasn’t my go-to bar, but probably second-tier.
****Which doesn’t mean I totally pan it, but I would say it’s a so-so movie, and worth watching as a time capsule.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1998/next_stop_wonderland.html
For most of your review, I was getting this confused with Sliding Doors, but then remembered that’s Gwyneth Paltrow, not Hope Davis. I honestly cannot remember if I’ve seen this, but I’m pretty sure that I have.
I like that you recounted your first experience of watching this movie in the review. It’s fun to read!